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NWS office resumes balloon launches with additional staff to support communities, agriculture

The National Weather Service in Omaha will resume weather balloon launches this week to help provide more accurate information to the region’s ag producers.

Congressman Mike Flood of Nebraska says this is good news for farmers and ranchers. “Without that atmospheric data from weather balloons, it compromises the forecasting precision when you’re trying to figure out what day to plant, what day to go spray your field or what your weeks going to look like.”  

Since March 20, the Omaha office has not launched its daily weather balloons due staffing cuts from the Trump administration.

During a Friday afternoon press conference, Flood says he’s confirmed the NWS offices will be able to hire employees to meet vacancies. “National Weather Service employees were told that any understaffed office in America would have the opportunity to use the same authority that Omaha has, and that’s good news for North Platte, for Rapid City. For all of these weather stations, Goodland, Kansas, that are currently understaffed.”

He says he plans to introduce a bill in May that would designate employees of the National Weather Service as public safety in an effort to avoid future layoffs.

Mike Flood: